BUILDING JEWISH

Sustainable Communities

A week-long practical workshop in eco-Judaism on Kibbutz Lotan

Sustainability: Quality of life for all within the means of nature -- now and in the future

The story of Creation and humanity’s responsibility “to till and to tend”; Shabbat as sanctified time for awareness of the wonders of Nature; Social and environmental justice through Tikkun Olam:

Jewish tradition is steeped in an environmental ethic that is highly relevant to the major challenge of our times – The successful transition to a just and sustainable society.

The aim of the Building Jewish Sustainable Communities workshop on Kibbutz Lotan is to:

Provide an introduction to the concept of sustainability from a modern Jewish perspective

Increase understanding of global sustainability issues with local community as the context for solutions

Cultivate the development of a living and relevant Jewish environmental ethic

Supply practical tools for initiating sustainability projects at a community level

Participants of the workshop will:

Learn practical, hands-on techniques that form part of a functional sustainability “tool-box”

Experience a living community whose lifestyle reflects sustainability values and their application

Assess the opportunities and challenges for sustainability in their own communities

Leave with a strengthened Jewish identity, empowered with concepts and tools as agents for change

The Building Jewish Sustainable Communities workshop is run on an interactive and experiential basis, combining theoretical concepts with practical tools and their application.

Topics covered in the full-week program include:

“From Crisis to Sustainability”: Global Issues, Global Challenges

“To Till and to Tend”: Developing a living and relevant Jewish environmental ethic

Community: the context for solutions

Building with natural and recycled materials, ecological design

Local food production, organic gardening, the magic of compost, seeds

and seed saving

Eco-kashrut & food justice

Awe & wonder: Reconnecting to Nature through Judaism

Alternative technologies: Solar ovens, grey water, waterless toilets

Shabbat as an eco-Jewish concept

Tikkun Olam: Social & environmental justice from a Jewish perspective

Thinking globally, acting locally: Opportunities and challenges for

sustainability in our own communities

About Kibbutz Lotan:

Kibbutz Lotan’s Center for Creative Ecology, situated 55km north of Eilat in the southern Arava, is unique within Israel in providing quality experiential environmental education from a liberal, progressive Jewish perspective within the framework of a Reform Jewish community whose lifestyle reflects sustainability values. The Center won the Ministry of the Environment’s Shield award in 2000 for its work in environmental education. Kibbutz Lotan is a community of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism and a member of the Global Ecovillage Network, and was awarded the prize for Ecovillage Excellence in 2006 for work in environmental education and outreach, waste management and ecological building.